Buttons are used for fastening an article of clothing. For instance it is commonly known to sew a plurality of buttons onto a coat. The buttons are aligned to engage corresponding buttonholes so as to allow the coat to be fastened. Accordingly buttons are preferably mounted onto an article of clothing such that the button may be manipulated and inserted into a corresponding buttonhole of an article of clothing. However, the threads may wear over time as the button is subject to twisting and turning when inserted into the buttonhole. Thus, sewn buttons tend to fall off after a period of time.
It is also known to use mechanical devices to button an article of clothing together. For instance one such device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,443 to Camporese. The '433 patent discloses a button assembly including a base, an elongated shaft, and a button head. The elongated shaft has a pointed end which is operable to engage a receiving portion of the button head. However such configuration does not allow the button head to rotate in three-dimensional space about the shaft. Thus, the pointed end of the shaft is placed through a buttonhole and the button head is mounted thereon. Naturally, the button head may be separated from the base and thus render the device inoperable.
Accordingly it is desirable to have a button assembly wherein the button head is able to rotate in all directions so as to accommodate the insertion of the button head into a buttonhole. It is further desirable to have a button assembly wherein the button head is retained onto the base so that the two pieces remain together thus mitigating the chances of losing one piece and rendering the device inoperable.